Rendering of the exterior of One Cardinal Way(Credit: St. Louis Cardinals)

Rendering of kitchen inside One Cardinal Way (Credit: St. Louis Cardinals)

Rendering of the pool deck at One Cardinal Way (Credit: St. Louis Cardinals)

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV.com) -

Construction crews broke ground on phase two of Ballpark Village Thursday Morning.

“This second phase is more than seven times the scale of the first phase of Ballpark Village, bringing our total investment in new construction downtown to well over $750 million since 2005,” said Bill DeWitt III, President of the St. Louis Cardinals. “By developing new housing, Class A office space, an upscale hotel, and high quality street level retail, we are truly putting the 'Village' into Ballpark Village.”

New buildings will be built on both sides of the existing Phase 1. A new street will also emerge, called Cardinal Way, that will run from 8th Street to Broadway.

PriceWaterHouse Coopers will be the anchor tenant of the new office building.

The west side parking lot at the end of the current Busch II's infield is set to grow upwards. There will also be a three-story retail pavilion north of Busch II Infield that will connect everything.

"It will go from being a great entertainment spot to an actual village and an actual neighborhood where there will be retail and commercial development as well as a luxury residence," said Missy Kelley, President and CEO of Downtown STL.

Kelley said St. Louis hasn't seen construction like this in downtown for decades.

A luxury high-rise apartment, which will be called One Cardinal Way, will be the first "Class A building" built downtown in 30 years.

"Having a luxury apartment on the grounds of Busch Stadium basically is going to be a significant draw for many people across the country, not just in St. Louis," said Kelley.

Downtown STL expects the new structure to attract people to live, and move their business, near the Gateway to the West's most famous landmark.

"It's a big office space, it's a fair amount, like 150,000 square feet, so a lot of employees to frequent the restaurants and shop at the retail, so it will be a really great anchor for this south end of downtown," said Kelley.

Kelley said there will still be plenty of parking available downtown despite the new development.

The $260 million second phase of Ballpark Village is expected to take 18 months to complete.

“This is a tremendous project that will bring hundreds of new residents and over a thousand new jobs to our city,” said St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson. “I am excited to see a world-class hometown company like the Cardinals and their development partners, The Cordish Companies, expanding their investment in St. Louis and bringing the first new, Class-A office building downtown in nearly three decades.”

Anyone interested in living at One Cardinal Way can schedule appointments with the Cordish Living management team by clicking here.